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EN-Aarsrapport 2011X Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission Annual Report 2011 The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent body which is responsible for deciding whether convicted persons should have their cases retried in a different court. 1 THE NORWEGIAN CRIMINAL CASES REVIEW COMMISSION Contents Annual Report 2011 of the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission ............. 3 The composition of the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission .................. 3 The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission’s secretariat .............................. 3 Emergency preparedness .................................................................................................. 4 Inclusive working life ......................................................................................................... 4 User survey and subsequent check ................................................................................. 5 Apprentices working for the state ................................................................................... 5 Statistics showing the number of employees ................................................................ 5 Disclosure of public data ................................................................................................... 5 Gender equality in the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission .................... 5 Planned and implemented measures that promote equality on the basis of gender, ethnicity and disability ........................................................................................ 6 The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission’s financial resources ................ 6 In general about the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission ....................... 6 Cases and procedures ........................................................................................................ 8 Appointment of defence counsel ................................................................................... 11 Appointment of a counsel for the victim/surviving next of kin – the rights of the victim and victim’s surviving next of kin ....................................................................... 11 Appointment of expert witnesses .................................................................................. 12 New assessment of the Treholt case ............................................................................. 12 The appeal-filtering cases ............................................................................................... 12 The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission’s other activities, etc. ............ 14 Civil actions brought against the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission . 15 Relevant decisions ............................................................................................................ 17 2 Annual Report 2011 of the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission is an independent body which is responsible for deciding whether convicted persons should have their cases retried in a different court. The Commission’s activities are regulated by chapter 27 of the Norwegian Criminal Procedure Act. The composition of the Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission The Commission consists of five permanent members and three alternate members. The chair, vice chair, one of the other members and two of the alternate members must have law degrees. The King in Council appoints the chair for a period of seven years and the members for a period of three years. As at 31 December 2011, the Commission was composed of the following persons: Chair: Helen Sæter Vice Chair: Gunnar K. Hagen, Lawyer, Lillehammer Members: Bjørn Rishovd Rund, Professor at the University of Oslo and Director of research at Vestre Viken Health Authority Birger Arthur Stedal, Judge Gulating Court of Appeal Ingrid Bergslid Salvesen, Senior advisor at the University of Tromsø Alternate members: Ellen Katrine Nyhus, Professor at the University of Agder Benedict de Vibe, Lawyer in Oslo Trine Løland Gundersen, Lawyer with the Municipal Lawyer’s Office in Kristiansand The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission’s secretariat The Commission’s chair is employed full-time as the head of the secretariat. At the year- end, the secretariat otherwise had nine employees - five investigating officers with a legal background and two investigating officers with a police background as well as an office manager and a secretary. The investigating officers have experience of working for law firms, the courts, the Ministry of Justice and the Police, the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the police, the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the tax authorities. The secretariat’s premises are located in Teatergata 5 in Oslo. 3 Emergency preparedness In addition to the Commission’s secretariat, the Norwegian Civil Affairs Authority, the Norwegian Secretariat for the Mediation Services and the Mediation Service in Oslo-Akershus also have offices in Teatergata 5 (T5). These organisations have prepared a joint emergency preparedness plan for T5. This plan was last updated on 26 February 2009 and is to be revised at least every four years. A notification list for T5, safety rules governing the use of ICT services, a plan for a phone number that next of kin can call, relevant HSE guidelines and a plan for fire-protection measures have also been prepared. Regular fire practices have been held, most recently on 25 March 2011. A risk and vulnerability analysis has been prepared. These plans are followed up in accordance with the Commission’s annual performance plan. Inclusive working life A new Inclusive Working Life (IA) agreement was entered into with effect from 1 April 2011. Based on the IA agreement’s requirements that the sickness absence rate must be reduced, the number of employees with disabilities must increase and the length of time that employees work after 50 years of age must be extended by six months, the Commission’s chair together with the employee representatives and safety representative decided on an action plan that was applicable as from the same date. The Commission’s sickness absence rate is low. In relation to the agreement’s goal of reducing sickness absence, the Commission therefore stipulated a goal of maintaining its low sickness absence rate of 1.1% based on the absence figures for 2010. Activities intended to support this were individual adaptations and the follow-up of those on sick leave in accordance with the Norwegian Working Environment Act and IA agreement, an exercise agreement, active efforts to improve the working environment ( refer to the annual performance plan) and the development of expertise, for example through Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) courses. The sickness absence rate has risen slightly in 2011 but is still low. Regarding the agreement’s goal of increasing the number of employees with disabilities, the Commission stipulated a goal of making conditions suitable for the employment of persons with disabilities. As a result, a diversity declaration has been included in job adverts. No one with a disability applied for a job with the Commission’s secretariat in 2011. Regarding the agreement’s goal of encouraging employees over 50 years of age to stay in work for six months longer, the Commission stipulated a goal of motivating and making arrangements so that older employees would manage to stay in work for longer. Activities intended to support this work were older-employee measures (refer to the Norwegian state’s personnel handbook), courses, interviews with older employees and the adaptation of work, from both an organisational and content viewpoint, to match the employee’s capacity. None of the Commission’s employees over the age of 50 left the Commission in 2011. 4 User survey and subsequent check The Commission did not conduct a user survey in 2011. When the Commission was established in 2004, it was presumed that a subsequent check would be carried out in order to assess whether or not the statutory amendments had had the presumed effect, see Proposition to the Odelsting no. 70 (2000-2001). It was recommended that those affected by the amendments, i.e. persons charged with a crime, defence counsels, judges and representatives of the prosecuting authority, should reply to questionnaires or be interviewed in depth in such a subsequent check. According to the proposal, the Ministry of Justice and the Police was to have the overall responsibility for carrying out this subsequent check. In the autumn of 2010, the Ministry appointed a working group, led by Professor Ulf Stridbeck of the University of Oslo’s Law Faculty, to carry out this subsequent check. In brief, the assignment was to describe the procedural rules in review cases and the Commission’s work methods and procedural routines. The working group was also to assess the Commission’s and secretariat’s manpower and composition. At the same time, a subsequent check was initiated within the Ministry in order to assess other aspects of the Commission’s activities. In short, this work involved assessing the opportunity to bring civil actions concerning the Commission’s decisions, the Commission’s professional work area, the relationship between section 391, no. 2 and section 392 of the Criminal Procedure Act and the question of reopening old cases. This subsequent check was originally to be carried out by Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn, a special advisor, but was later transferred to the aforementioned working group. The working
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